An Orlando Wedding Guild Luncheon and a Wedding Remembered

Yesterday was wedding networking day in Orlando. Despite the rain. Quite a few of us came out for the Orlando Wedding Guild Luncheon which is sponsored by Central Florida Bride & Perfect Wedding Guide. It was hosted at Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar located in Winter Park. It was the perfect opportunity to check out this great steakhouse. A wonderful location for hosting a rehearsal or welcome dinner. And if you’re planning a lunchtime reception, you can take over the entire restaurant as they are closed for lunch. Eileen Antonescu handles all of the group dining events and comes to the restaurant from the Ballroom at Church Street. So, she knows her stuff.

Faye Novick and I attended the luncheon for the Just Marry! contingency and saw many of our wedding biz friends. Janine Boylan and Kim Moffat from the Grand Bohemian Orlando. Our good friend Deb Kettler from Special Touches by Deb. We just don’t get to see Deb enough. I guess planning weddings and doing flower decor can be very time consuming. We had a great time and Deb and I even had a glass of wine with lunch. Isn’t it 5pm somewhere? Thanks Deb. Also, got to catch up with one of my newest wedding friends, Tracy Marini from Eventfully Yours. I just loving counting the best wedding planners in the biz as some of my dearest friends. Where are you if you don’t have friends that know exactly what you’re talking about on a day to day basis in this crazy world of weddings? And always a pleasure to see my dear friend, the elegant Susie Weiss from Wonderful Weddings. Love her! And you never know who you might run into at one of the gigs. I haven’t seen Greg Dillon for quite some time. The last time that we worked together was at the Grand Bohemian Orlando for Mary & Dean’s wedding a few years ago. Back then I didn’t have a blog. Greg was so wonderful to work with and took such great photos that I wanted to share a few.

The vendors for this wedding were:

Grand Bohemian Hotel Orlando, Ceremony & Reception Site

Special Event Floral, Decor

Greg Dillon, Photography

A Magic Moment, Videography

Reverend Luther Kistler, Officiant

Mount Dora Trolley Company, Trolley Transportation

Classic Rolls Royce (Larry Gerry), Exit Transportation

DJ Frankie C, Reception Entertainment

Charlie’s Bakery, Wedding Cake

BBJ Linen, Rental Linens

Beautiful Music (Shannon Caine), Ceremony music

Impress, Indulge, Inspire at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes

It was an honor for Just Marry! to participate in the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes most recent wedding show. This show had the top planners and decor designers in the area featured. The planners involved were Susie Weiss with Wonderful Weddings and Lisa Konecny with E Events. And truly the creme de la creme of the floral designers in Orlando, Lee Forrest Design, Greenery Productions, Lee James of Grande Lakes Floral, Raining Roses, Flourish and Botanica.

The evening began with couples networking with some of the Ritz’s preferred vendors, Damon Tucci, John Unrue, Jeffrey Stoner and nu visions. Beautiful Music played some lovely background music during this meet and greet time. We planners and floral designers were in the ballroom putting the finishing touches to the tables. Each planner was able to do at least 3 guest tables. Just Marry! chose to do 4. We have to thank Lee Forrest for providing the beautiful decor and design ideas. It was great fun working with him. He is extremely talented. BBJ Linen provided us with the beautiful linens (table linens, napkins, chair pads) and PKS Rental provided us with the mahogany, black and white chiavari chairs that helped to finish off our tables. Our fourth table was added a bit later in the game and Stephanie Rounds with nu visions in photography suggested that we use some glass sculptures from Keila Glassworks located in the City Arts Factory in downtown Orlando. This made for a clean, modern look for our final table. Once all of the table designs were complete, the doors to the ballroom were opened and the guests entered and visited the various table designs before finding their designated spot at the beautiful tables. We had an amazing meal. Following was the official menu of the evening,

Appetizer

Duo of Dumpling Squash

Ravioli with Nutmeg Froth and Bisque with Vanilla Cream

&

Gulf Coast Crab Gnocchi

Fiddlehead Ferns and Corn

Basil Foam

Salad

Layers of Baby Greens

Pumpkin and Chevre Cheese Cake

Cranberry Orange Vinaigrette

Gingerbread Tuile

&

Layers of Baby Greens

Gorgonzola Wellington, Spicy Walnuts

Strawberry Rhubarb Vinaigrette

Entrée

Grilled Filet Mignon

Potato and Celery Root Puree

Spaghetti Squash, Jumbo Asparagus

Red Wine Jus

&

Cashew Crusted Halibut “Summer Roll”

Purple Thai Rice, Enoki Mushrooms

Preserved Ginger and Green Tea Broth

Dessert

Chef to Prepare

Chocolate Tart with Burnt Marshmallow

Flambéed Bananas, Espresso Ice Cream

&

Chef to Prepare

Lemon Curd Crepes

Grand Marnier Strawberries

Coconut Sorbet

All I can say is yummy! I’m such a foodie and this was so delicious. I especially loved the fiddlehead ferns. The dinner courses were also paired with some wonderful wines. Starting with one of Susan’s and my favorite wines, Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. It really was a treat for anybody invited to the show as Arthur Murray Dance Studio performed to the wonderful stylings of the Ricky Sylvia with the Buzzcatz. This band is truly one of the best around! The evening ended with the couples being able to chat with the various A-1 vendors in attendance and enjoy some delectable desserts and after dinner drinks. It is always a pleasure to do a wedding at the Ritz-Carlton. Truly one of my favorite venues in the city! Following please see our table top displays, provided by our amazing sponsors. Thank you again to Lee Forrest! A true artistic talent. The following images were provided by Damon Tucci where noted and nu visions in photography. Thanks guys for the beautiful images.